The three Malfoys were huddled together as though unsure whether or not they were supposed to be there, but nobody was paying them any attention. They had chosen a place at the end of the Slytherin table, forever loyal to their noble house. Despite the joyful noise all around them, there was silence between the Malfoys. Draco was trying to stop the tears from flowing. He had made the wrong decision, he knew it. He had just been trying to live up to his father's expectations. How could he ever give back what these people had lost? There was nothing he could do.

The faint sound of muffled sobs floated through the babble. A small girl was huddled in the corner of the room, crying, her face in her hands. Draco looked around. No-one had noticed, all enthralled with Potter's victory. They all just walked on by, greeting family, friends, acknowledging the lost.

Draco stood up.

"Draco, where are you going?" Narcissa reached for his hand, concerned. Draco stepped back.

"To see her. The girl." He indicated the girl in the corner.

"Why?" Lucius' lip curled. "Since when have you cared for the snuffling and the weak?" he snarled. Draco turned furiously and started walking away.

"Draco!"

"No!" he exploded. "No! I am sick of this! We have done so much bad," his voice wavered, a desperate tear sliding down his cheek. "We have done so much evil to all of these people. I just want to do one thing good." He said firmly, trying to wipe the tears away. Draco determinedly walked away, his mother's mouth hanging open in shock.

"Hey," Draco sat down next to the girl, his voice a little nasally. "Are you okay?" She looked in to his crystal-blue eyes for a brief moment, then dissolved in to helpless sobs again.

"Hey, hey, it's alright," he put a comforting arm around her. She leaned in to him covering her face. A few moments passed before she managed to control her tears.

"It's my sister," she mustered. "Daphne. She's…She's…She's dead!" she sobbed. "and they never found her body!" more tears ran down her face, leaving clean tracks in the dirt and battle grime. "I'm never going to see her again," she went quiet, but the tears kept coming.

Draco held her close. It felt strange, comforting this girl when he didn't even know her name, had never even seen her face before.

"It's okay," he said. "It'll be alright." Stupid words, he knew, but there was nothing else to say.

They stayed there a long time, her crying in to Draco's shirt, trying to stop the tears from coming, and Draco, hugging this stranger, offering useless words of comfort to someone he'd never met before.

After a while she gained control over her tears. Draco, noticing the silence, spoke.

"Hey," he smiled weakly. "I think we got off to a bad start."

She offered him a sad smile.

"I'm Astoria. Astoria Greengrass." She snuffled.

"I'm Draco Malfoy." He smirked. "I'm guessing you probably know who I am."

Astoria's mouth twitched.

"Yes, but you're not nearly as bad as I've heard,"

Draco chuckled. He liked this girl.